The Christmas Blur

Christmas Eve was nice.  We had a great day at home and a nice evening at my grandpa's house.  It was a smallish crowd, only 30 people or so, and pretty much just my mom, her sisters, and their families.  We had a good program.  I sang with Haley and James and Willie in the family band, and we had a good nativity program as well.  My only contribution to the feast was chocolate fudge, but it was really yummy.

Christmas day was nice, too.  It was LONG, but it was nice.  We started our morning, Wyatt and I, having to get everyone else out of bed.  My whole life, I've been the first one up on Christmas day and I was the first up this year, too.  I got up at 5:30, showered, and just waited for someone else to be interested.  Our gift opening at home was frenzied and frantic, just as it should be with three small boys.  And, we even had time this year to skype with Ross' family in Arizona before we started on the days adventuring.

Our first stop was my Aunt LeeAnn's for Christmas brunch.  Almost everyone was there, the food was great (oh, scones!) and the gift opening speedy and festive.  I love to be in a big group laughing and having fun.  Once we left my aunt's house, it was a quick stop at the only open gas station in Roy for one of many diet cokes for the day, and then off to my parents.

There, we opened more presents - my mom is too generous - and hung out in our Christmas hangover waiting for my sister and her family to arrive from her in-laws home.  All the natives under 7 were pretty restless upon her arrival so we hurried some more and then headed out to my grandpa's house.

By the time we arrived, everyone was gone, the house was quiet, and the tree was glowing.  I've never been to my grandparents house so late on Christmas day before and it was kind of nice.  The stillness was appreciated after a frantic day.  The kids opened a few more presents and then finally, we were headed home, about 11 hours after we'd left the house that day.

We are very blessed.  We are very lucky.  Our children are very much loved.

It was a pretty good day.

A couple of things to note:
1 - Wyatt wore his new "go Utes" shirt that he picked out himself.  We didn't realize until halfway through the day that his new shirt was a girls shirt with ruffle sleeves.  We chose not to tell him, but to just not remind him to take his jacket off the rest of the day.

2 - Grandma Judy gave the big boys noisy guns.  Quinn had a cow because he didn't have a noisy gun.  My mom sent Willie downstairs and he brought up a third gun, for Quinn.  There was no point in getting him "age appropriate" gifts....all he wanted were the things his brothers had.

3 - 2013 was the year of the Lego: Chima, Star Wars, Ninjago and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  And, this year, Elliott can build everything all by himself, which is pretty cool.

4 - Wyatt got a fart gun from Santa Claus.  He's been running around holding up to people's butts and laughing for days now.

5 - I gave nearly all homemade gifts this year.  I made 9 quilts, 10 pillow covers and countless other things.  Not too sure how all my gifts were received, but I thought that they turned out nice.  I think I spent between 50-80 hours sewing from the beginning of August until the first week of December when I finished my last quilt.